Today is Harry Truman's Birthday

and all the state employees around here have the day off, including my partner who is home asleep as I write this.

He'll be thrilled to know his birthday's today. He thinks it's in July. Must give him Tuna for dinner to celebrate. :)

Truman by David McCullough is an absolute must read for anyone interested in American history. Shows what a good man can do, even if he "fails" early in life and rises to the top due to happenstance and The Machine.

We'll start with Rummy.

Saturday, May 8, 9 a.m.
Ft. Leavenworth Honor Guard
Wreath Laying Ceremony


A color guard from Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas and representatives of President Truman's family and of the Truman Library Institute Honorary Fellows will commemorate his 120th birthday by laying a wreath on his gravesite. This ceremony is President George W. Bush's official recognition of President Truman's birthday. Museum visitors may observe from the Courtyard or the Legacy Gallery.

Saturday, May 8, 9:30 a.m.
American Legion Pilgrimage
Wreath Laying Ceremony


Representatives of over fifty American Legion posts will observe President Truman's birthday by laying wreaths at his gravesite. The ceremonies will include a color guard procession and a memorial address. Museum visitors may observe from the Courtyard or the Legacy Gallery.

Saturday, May 8, 10:30 a.m.
Brian Burnes
"Harry S. Truman: His Life and Times"
Kansas City Star reporter Brian Burnes will discuss his new book, "Harry S. Truman: His Life and Times," the companion volume to the new exhibition of the same name. Brian will be available to sign books both before and after the talk.

http://trumanlibrary.org/


The Official Harry S Truman Appreciation Society (Dems Abroad branch) is planning a Special tomorrow.

No clues yet but we've been promised something good....

in Missouri. I feel kinda proud that one of the few decent presidents of the 20th century came from rural Missouri.

I believe that history has yet to fully appreciate the magnitude of Harry S's accomplishments, from extinguishing the Nazis to stamping on racists/segregationists in his own party.

Truly a man of honour.

That's how I feel about the guy..

BTW: I named my 9 year daughter Madison.... Hence..trumad

I've always found the symbolism of Harry Truman's name to be startling. I think of him as possibly the last US president who was almost completely up-front with the American public. Like a good Missourian, he was all about common sense and doing what was right.

He also integrated the US military, another highly significant accomplishment with far-reaching effects.

with him - although it has been said was that harry got really pissed when god made him wait..bush really has no balls doesn`t he? he`s alittle school boy who wets his pants if he is forced to do something

i want to have babies.

...you'll find a few examples of what he did.

Democrat or not, I'll nver forgive him for incinerating Hiroshima & Nagasaki.

So easy for you to say...

The execution of 300,000 innocent civilians.

If it was a modern-day republican who had committed that atrocity, everybody here would be roundly condemning him. Those bombs are our nation's greatest shame, and we've yet to live them down (though the rebuilding of Europe & Japan was a good start - I wish we were handling Iraq as well.)

I knew I'd get crap for this, but an atrocity is an atrocity.

I lived in Japan for many years, I visited both sites, and will never forget it. Those people were my friends and neighbors. During WWII they were as mindfucked by their government as any freeper is today. That's no reason to incinerate them.

Please go rent a copy of "Barefoot Gen" at your local anime shop. See if you still feel the same.

Ultimately, the only thing that "the enemy" respects is superior force. If it had been the Japanese who had dropped the bomb on, say, the Empire State Building, I am sure the aftermath of innocent civilian fallout would be as hard to stomach as the one that pains you.

I have read what Harry S Truman said about that and agree that in the horrific choice of "either them or us" he took the right decision. It took some balls. It ended World War 2.

The flak he took for that still does not outweigh the enormity of his achievements, many of which still are shrouded by the US State Secrets Acs and the UK's Official Secrets Act.

In particular, his stand over the creation of the State of Israel was courageous and should be applauded. His subsequent analysis and utter condemnation of the organised crime gangs which infiltrated it and the former Palestinian-held territory is a salutary lesson for BFEE aparatchicks like Ariel Sharon today.

He warned that Stalin-bankrolled extremists would exploit that swathe of the southern Mediterranean and had no qualms about pointing out the assinine sectarian infighting among Israelis would perpetuate the ancient feuds that fuelled their greed.

On his 120th birthday today I look forward to the release of the historical documents that both the US and UK hold concerning Harry's post 1952 achievements. The gagging of some of these - to protect the febrile and pathetic reputations of cold war icons on both sides of the Atlantic - is no longer relevant and should be repealed.

Happy Birthday Mr T - wherever you are today!
xx

IMO, it was not necessary to use the bombs on cities; they could have dropped them on uninhabited land to demonstrate their power. It's tough to fix responsibility, however. After all, FDR was the one who started the Manhattan project, not Truman. If FDR had lived longer, don't you think he'd have done the same thing?

But if FDR had used those things, he would NOT be my avatar - New Deal or not.

Here's a little sample of the wonders of Nagasaki.

and show a Japanese Death March?

been my Uncle Mike's (of blessed memory) 53rd birthday.

He doesn't look a day over 119!

:tinfoilhat:

A man who took responsibility for his own decisions.

A man who tried to further the greatness of FDR with the Fair Deal.

God Bless the last great common man to stumble into the Presidency and into history.

_